Paris has launched an ad campaign to poach business from post-Brexit London

LONDON (Reuters) - With a quip about British fog and French
frogs, Paris began an advertising campaign on Monday aimed at
poaching business from London after the Brexit vote raised
questions about the future dominance of Europe's top financial
capital.

Billboards showing a green frog wearing a tie sporting the colors
of the French flag and the slogan "Tired of the fog? Try the
Frogs! Choose Paris La Defense" are being put up at London's
Heathrow Airport and the London train station of the Eurostar,
showcasing the French capital's business district.

The June 23 vote to leave the EU took many investors and chief
executives by surprise, triggering the deepest political and
financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two and the biggest
one-day fall in sterling against the dollar.

Some bankers have warned that London could gradually lose its
position as the only financial capital to rival New York because
foreign banks could move out after Brexit, draining London of
talent, wealth and trading revenues.

London accounts for 41 percent of global foreign exchange
turnover, more than double the nearest competitor, New York,
according to the Bank for International Settlements. London's
closest European competitors are Switzerland and Paris, which
each take about 3 percent of global foreign exchange turnover.

Around 85 percent of European-based hedge funds are based in
London, which is also the leading market for international
insurance and reinsurance.

Officials from La Defense business district said the adverts were
aimed at underscoring the attractiveness of the French capital's
financial powerhouse, which it said had lower rentals and good
public transport.

La Défense, Paris.pisaphotography / Shutterstock

"As regrettable as Britain’s exit from the European Union may be,
we have to be pragmatic and promote our own assets," Patrick
Devedjian, head of the elected council representing the
Hauts-de-Seine district where La Defense is located, said in a
statement.

Marie-Cecile Guillaume, director general of Defacto, a public
body involved in managing La Defense, said the campaign aimed to
roll out "the blue, white and red carpet for thousands of
professionals now seeking new European headquarters."

This summer the French government introduced extra tax
concessions for expatriates in the hope Paris could profit from
Brexit, but experts say other centers with more flexible labor
and tax rules are likely to be bigger beneficiaries.

French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday that
Britain's decision to leave the European Union should not
jeopardize the bloc's principle of free movement.

"They have decided to leave. I think the worst attitude would be
to contest their choice or call into question the very
foundations of the European Union," Hollande told a conference on
Europe in Paris.

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